1826
by S.Montana
Summary: [Post-Colonization / Season 9 never happened] Five years after the 2012 invasion, Scully and William only want one thing: to find Mulder.
1. Chapter 1

**1826**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Hello folks!**

 **I haven't been posting anything on this wesite for a few years now but it seems like I am finally back.**

 **As a huge The X-Files fan, I had to write something down at some point and here it is.**

 **For those who have watched _"Robot Overlords"_ you will certainly recognize a certain "gathering scene" but shush, let this be our secret, shall we?**

 **This fanfiction will not be very long (2 or 3 chapters at most) but I hope you enjoy reading it. If so please let me know by letting a comment or whatsoever.**

Our coming on what looks like a camp seems like a bad surprise to everyone. All eyes are on us and so are the weapons some are carrying with them. Should we go on or just run away ? I cannot explain it but I feel like we are close. He is here, somewhere around.

"We don't mean any harm."

"We are looking for someone," mum says.

"My father. His name's Fox Mulder. Did anyone see him? He's an FBI agent."

Surprised, people look at each other. It is like a switch has been flicked in their minds. As if I had just said something they knew about without being completely sure of it. Is it my dad's name effect ? Do they now any Fox but no Mulder ? Any Mulder but no Fox ? In any of these scenarios, I know I am damn right about this. Let's admit that not a lot of parents call their children Fox and there are no Mulder left except for us.

 _"Fox_ Mulder," mum says. I can hear hope in her voice.

I know how bad she needs to see my dad, the man she loves so much. If we fail today, I think I might lose her too. And I refuse to lose her. I can't lose her.

"Fox? You are looking for a certain Fox?"

"Yes!" mum exclaimed with bright eyes. She is going to cry.

"Let's them through," a distant hoarse voice suddenly says.

Mum and I turn our heads. I don't quitely understand what is going on until I see mum rushing into an older man's arms. He has rounded glasses. I know that face. I know that man.

"Walter?" I finally say, astonished.

We thought he had been dead for years now. After the colonization, he and dad had been taken away and we had imagined that they would not have had kept Walter as he was not as important as dad was. Yes, dad still was kind of important for The Cigarette Smoking Man even though I did not get why. Mum refused to explain the situation to me. That Traitor, as she called him, had some weird connection with my father.

Slowly, I get closer until I witness my mum crying. She is exhausted. Mentally and physically exhausted. Even though she keeps telling me otherwise since we left Baltimore, I know our journey to Vermont had her worn out. I wish I had the abilities to share some of my strength with her but I cannot. As much as I can read minds properly and do telepathy, I am still not in measure to share any of my vitals with my mother. I _know_ I can do it, but I do not know _how_. Mum never ceases telling me that it is okay, that those things take time and that I need to take it easy.

"Will..." Walter murmurs before he holds me in his arms.

I quickly wrap mine around him and squeeze him as much as I can. It feels so good finally being able to hug someone I know. Mum and I were so sure that everyone we knew had died after the colonization that we had kind of accepted it, I suppose. But then, there had been this morning. This morning when I _felt_ dad. I knew he was alive. Mum did not get to think twice about it. We packed the same day with what we needed the most and went north.

"Where is he, Skinner?"

"Don't call me that here, Dana. It is dangerous. We use our first names so we don't get too much attention on us."

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"They are still looking for us. Luckily we manage to be the clever ones for now on."

Mum turns and looks at me. Her face shows all the energy she has lost on that journey, she cannot take it anymore. Right now, I think she does not give a damn about answers. She just needs to find-

"Dana, William..."

I turn around and I see him. There, right in front of me. I waited five years for that moment to happen. One thousand eight-hundred and twenty-six days to see that face again.

"Dad."

"Muld-"

She does not even finish pronouncing his name. She runs into his arms. I do not realise it but I am actually doing exactly the same. Quickly, I find myself against both my parents. My mother is crying while my father thanks any powerful entity for they are no aliens or robots above our heads.

My parents kiss like their lives depend on it. Then, mum steps back so I can have a moment with my dad. He puts both his cold hands on my cheeks and looks at me very carefully. It feels like he is scanning my face right now.

"Look at you. My big boy."

He is damn right about that. I am a big boy. Being only fifteen years old, I am already taller than my mother and clearly trying to get to my dad's height. Mum never got upset about it. She says that having my dad's genes is a good thing. I can't help remind her that her genes are badass genes too.

I hug my father again so I make sure he does not disappear, and that it is not a dream. I do not want to see my parents ever separated again. I do not want to lose any of them again.

 **[...]**

"How did you find me?" Dad asks while holding mum against his chest, his chin on top of her head.

We sat around a fire, seated on not so comfortable logs. Dad told us we would get used to that new way of life. He said that it was better than any life in the now robots invaded cities.

"Will felt you were alive, mum says," clinging into him. She closes her eyes for a second or two. She seems so relaxed right now. Finally. She looks like a phoenix coming back to life. "He _knew_ you were alive. So we left Baltimore and-"

"Baltimore ? That's where you were all this time ? I searched almost every apartments in DC trying to find you both. I thought you were dead even though I could not quite understand why since you were so important to the Invaders."

"They rehoused us after the colonization," mum says, looking up, straight into his eyes.

Dad sighs and kisses her forehead tenderly. I had forgotten the tenderness between them. I was only ten when everything went to hell, so I guess I had time to forget. And yet, I _really_ did not want to forget.

"What do we do now?" I finally ask.

"Nothing."

"What do you mean, nothing?"

"It's over Will. We lost and there is nothing we can do about it. Earth does not belong to us anymore and I don't want to go into any battle that might get us killed. Get _you_ killed. I can't take the risk of losing you again."

"But dad we-"

"Will," mum interrupts. "You heard your father. It's over now."

 **[...]**

Later that night, as our makeshift bedrooms are next to each other's, I overhear my parents talking.

"Blond hair, hm?"

"You're not the only one who needed to be discreet, _Mulder_."

"Don't call me like this in here."

"But you hate your first name."

"I quite like it now that it keeps me alive."

"Fox."

"How many times have you called me that in almost twenty-five years?"

She does not reply. Maybe they are kissing. I really don't want to know that. They are my parents, there are some limits in what I need to know about them.


	2. Chapter 2

**1826**

 **Chapter 2**

A few days later after our arrival, mum and I tried to get used to what would now be our new way of life. Living with others was weird but I knew I would manage eventually. Dad and I talked about everything that happened for the last five years, and I realised that he never stopped fighting until he understood it was too late.

Today, I realise we are lucky we were still alive, actually.

 **[…]**

On one early morning, I hear some strange noises coming from outside. People inside the bunker are waking up, frightened by what is happening.

Fox ! Walter ! Come see this ! Someone says out loud.

I see mum and dad leaving their makeshift bedroom, passing in front of mine. I am about to follow them when I see my mother coming back to me.

You stay here, Will !

But mum-

No ! I don't know what the hell is going on out there so you stay here.

Because she sees my unhappy face, she gets nearer and puts her hands on my cheeks. She always does that when she needs me to listen carefully.

I know this is unpleasant for you but I refuse to let you take any risk right now that we are reunited, do you understand ?

But mum it's not about taking risk. It's about taking courage !

Not now my clever boy, just not yet.

She kisses me on the forehead after I bent over to help her do so and runs to find my father again. What the heck is happening here ?

Fox ! she says before grabbing his hand.

Go back inside, he replies but she holds his hand more tightly.

Not without you.

Scully looks up to the sky and that is when she sees it. A spaceship floating just above their heads. She stops breathing. It cannot be happening. Not now, not again. She starts shaking, fearing the worst already but Mulder turns and looks at her.

Don't panic.

Easy to say, sweaty hands.

Mulder frowns but looks at his free hand and realises that he has indeed sweaty hands. He is panicking too. There is no way he is going to lose his family again after he spent five years without them already. He kisses Scully on the top of her head and looks back outside.

It's strange, Skinner says.

What? Why? Scully asks back.

It seems like- I think they are leaving.

Scully looks up and frowns. The lights are so bright, it is almost blinding. She cannot see a lot of what is happening but she quite understands Skinner's point here. The sound made by the UFO is different than what she had heard during the invasion. It was like they were retreating which made no sense at all. Why would they invade Earth for so many years to finally leave like this? Had they managed to find what they wanted from humans? Had they had the answers to their questions? As she is getting closer to Mulder, Scully suddenly feels shivers along her spine. Those have nothing to do with the cold, she knows that. It is her inner-self trying to tell her something. Something rather important.

William, she whispers before letting go of Mulder's hand.

Scu- Dana !

She starts running inside the bunker, Mulder following her. Something is happening. Something is wrong, she can _feel_ it.


	3. Chapter 3

**1826**

 **chapter 3**

 **Hello again folks! First of all, let me apologize concerning the look of chapter 2. I did not have time to post it properly so for that; sorry.**

 **You have no idea how glad I was (and still am) to see how many of you subscribed to that fanfiction. It makes me so happy! As I said when I first posted it, it was not supposed to be a long story so that is why this chapter is the last one. Also, you'll see that this ending is a very "open one" so I hope it won't disappoint anyone who started reading the story.**

 **Thank you for sharing that short ride with me. Who knows, I might try to write another one soon.**

 **Take care of you all and never stop reading!**

 **Sincerely, Sophie**

Never have I ran so fast in her entire life. Well, maybe I have but I could not perfectly remember when.

"William!" I shout as if my life depends on it.

There is no way this is happening. No again. I cannot go through any of this _ever_ again.

I can hear Mulder shouting my own name behind me but I ignore him. I have to. First of all, I need to find our son.

"William!" I shout over and over again.

The people I pass by look at me sadly. Why would they ever look at me sadly ? There was no reason for any of this to happen, seriously. We had found Mulder and we were a whole family again. For what I have seen a few minutes prior, the Invaders were finally leaving Earth. That meant we can live a normal life from now on, right ?

Right ?

[...]

"Dana..."

It is only when Mulder grabs my hand that I understand what is going on here. I am in front of William's bed but our son is nowhere to be found.

"No- No!" I cry.

My legs cannot support me any longer, I am falling. My entire existence is now falling apart, _again_. I had lost Mulder three years before and now I was losing my son. My only child.

"Where is he? Mulder tell me where is my son!"

I do not give a damn about calling him Mulder or anything else, all I want is my son. _Our_ son. I need to find him, to hold him, and to tell him how much I love him. That is all that matters right now.

"Dana I-"

"Stop calling me Dana for fuck sake!"

"You know we-"

"Fuck that, Mulder! Where is Will?"

He looks down and sighs. Even him does not know. Mister _I know everything fucking thing_ has not a clue of where our son is.

"Mulder," says a sad voice behind us. It is Skinner. I have no trouble recognizing his voice.

"Walt-"

Mulder does not finish his sentence. I look up and then realise what is going on here. The look they both exchange is the worst thing I have ever seen in my whole life and I cannot bare it. I simply cannot.

"No. No! NO!"

I run again, well decided on going outside of the bunker to find my son again. I can feel my lungs burning inside my chest but I do not give a damn about it. All I need is William. Everybody let me through, like they _knew_ what was going on here. Why am I the only one not understand, then? Why would the world be so cruel to me _again_?

It is only once I arrive outside of the bunker that it gets into me. The feeling. The same one I had the day Mulder disappeared. The lack of air in my lungs freezes me. I fall on my knees, now ready to pray any entity who would be able to hear my request.

 _Give me my son back._

[…]

"Mum?"

The voice behind me feels like the electric shock of a defibrillator. I finally find the strength to turn my head and it is when I actually see him.

"Will?" I almost whisper. I hardly believe he is here.

"Mum I cannot hear you-"

"What do you mean, sweetheart? I am just hear."

I slowly get up and walk to him. It is only when both my arms get around him that I feel like I can breathe again. One of my hands gets into his hair that I stroke gently. I almost lost him, I know that.

"Oh my baby-"

"Mum I-"

"What? What is it, my darling?"

The way he looks at me let me know that something is wrong. Even if I would love to deny that, I _know_ that something went wrong here. My son would not simply disappear to reappear a few minutes later meanwhile a fucking spaceship was above our heads.

"I cannot _hear_ you."

"William, I don't understand what that means. I- You can obviously hear me but-"

"No. Not here," he says, putting two fingers on my lips. "Here," he adds, now putting his fingers on my head.

I instantly freeze. Does that mean what I actually think it means?

"William you- You cannot read my mind anymore?"

The way he shakes his head makes me understand how lost he feels right now. He had always lived with that capacity so now was certainly just a weird feeling for him not to be able to read people's minds.

I hug him tightly and kiss the his cheek, even though he is so taller than I that I have to go tiptoeing to do so.

"Everything is going to be alright, my love. I promise you that."

"It is so- silent."

"I know."

"Scully?" says a voice who is definitely not my son's.

I pull away and turn to see Mulder and Walter coming to us. I smile to them and take William's hand. I found him. I manage to bring him home even though I know I certainly did not do anything really. But it is so important for me to have my men with me. We have been through so much already. I am done giving away my happiness because some decided that I should.

"Dad I don't have them anymore," Will says to his father who gets closer to him.

"What do you mean, son?"

"My powers..."

Mulder holds his son tightly against him and looks at me. He does not understand and neither do I but right now, I do not care. I have them back, the two of them.

 _Finally._


End file.
